Simon is a young orphan being raised by his uncle Tom. As his grandfather lay dying, Simon discovers how racist and backwards his uncle is. Simon's grandfather hated Simon's father and claims that he intentionally killed Simon's mother in a car crash. Simon's family narrative is cleverly knit into a news story presented to Simon by his high school French teacher as a translation exercise. The article is read by the teacher about an attempted bombing of an aircraft by a man who put explosives in his pregnant wife's luggage. Simon gets the idea to translate the story and write it from the perspective of the child in the woman's womb. The teacher encourages Simon to develop his story, present it to the class and to the world via the Internet as if he really was that child. The narrative of the car crash and the attempted bombing of the plane become intertwined as a way for the characters to deal with their past experiences. Simon's story takes a twist that involves everyone in his life.